Yes, it is possible that it's a variation of Shaina, a name meaning "beautiful" in Yiddish. However, the rationale is that Yiddish names are very uncommon outside of Northern European (and some colonial) Jewish communities, whereas John / Jane group names are found in every European language and some other languages as well, so Shana is far more likely to belong to the latter group than the former, unless you are Jewish.

I'm glad you didn't intend to attack anyone, however it's quite clear that you *did*, whatever your intention, and I rather feel that you owe Indy a more obvious apology for your outburst, than the one in your post. (That sounds all harsh and school-teacherish! I'm not trying to scold, it's just that I'm a big sister to 5 siblings and it's that side of me that's talking there :-) )

edited for hyperlinking

This message was edited by the author on October 10, 2004 at 9:28:28 PM